


Leave Taking

by beadedslipper



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Angst, John really just wants to be with Finch, M/M, Pining, character introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 17:54:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6715324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beadedslipper/pseuds/beadedslipper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They are bound.  Even apart, they are drawn to one another.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Leave Taking

People can take them apart.  They try and, on rare occasions, they succeed.  It never worries John because he knows that he will always find his way back to Finch.  Finch isn’t much bothered by it either, more than prepared to risk fortune, freedom, life, and limb to bring John back.  But neither Reese nor Finch are fans of all the leaving they’ve both been doing lately.  Leaving and taking are two different things.

The first time they are separated it is by a happy little sociopath with an unhealthy obsession with Harold’s life’s work.

The second time is by pride first and sadism second and they are only reunited long enough to nearly be blown to pieces.  At least it would have been together.

Both of these are the taking and, as traumatic as they were, they only bring Reese and Finch closer together in the end.

The third time they are separated by grief and a resentment that John didn’t even realize had been festering inside him for all the truths that Finch kept to himself.  Joss wasn’t the only reason he was still living.  She wasn’t even the biggest reason, no matter what he said when they were sharing war stories.  The bleak knowledge that you were likely to die in the next few minutes and there was nothing you could do to stop it made people say strange things, feel things more strongly than they might have otherwise.  That didn’t mean losing her wasn’t devastating.  He saw Jessica in Joss.  He saw another failure.  Knowing that that failure could have, should have been prevented by Harold and his miraculous machine – but wasn’t – left John floundering, untethered.  He did the only thing he could.  He ran.  He ran so far and so fast that he ran all the way right back to Harold.

The fourth time is because of the inherent differences between them.  They have butted heads on more than one occasion.  As deep as they may care for one another, their relationship has always had more than its fair share of bumps.  But their world-views have never clashed so completely as in this moment, inside an empty house in suburban DC.  Finch cannot imagine a scenario where it is necessary, appropriate, _possible_ to trade a life to save others.  John, of course, has lived that reality for a good portion of his life.  Nevermind that John ends up bowing to Harold’s wishes, nevermind that he ignores his better judgment and follows Harold (always, anywhere), nevermind that leaving the self-titled ‘deal maker’ alive puts thousands of lives at risk.  Harold still disappears and leaves John and Shaw to fend for themselves.  John isn’t sure that, if Grace’s life weren’t endangered, he ever would have seen Harold Finch again.

The fifth time is the kicker because it is leaving and taking both.  Harold chooses to go and, in this case, John understands his choice more than he can put into words.  John knows that bone-deep need to protect.  He lives that feeling.  It is what drives him.  It is that feeling that is crackling like sparks in his own chest as he watches his employer, his friend, his true north being taken by Decima and leaving John behind.

John swears to every god, to everything he believes in (which is mostly Harold anyway) that he will get Harold back.  He does, though it’s almost too late, the sight of that pistol pointed at Harold’s heart almost enough to steal his breath.  Instead it gives him the strength, the speed to get there in time.  Harold is still shot, but he is also still alive.  John will count it as a win.  Those have been thin on the ground as of late and he has to take what he can get.

They are reunited, together, again with Shaw and Bear and Fusco and even crazy Root who John has a strange sort of understanding with, but still doesn't particularly like.

Only to be ripped apart by the cruel arms of Samaritan.

Leaving Harold in the middle of the sidewalk, on a random street in Manhattan is one of the hardest things John has ever had to do.  Knowing that Harold has Bear to protect him is cold comfort.  He is forced to play the part, fall into his cover of John Riley – NYPD narco detective, aggressive, off the cuff, but effective.  It suits John, keeps his efforts to find Harold down to occupying only fifty percent of his thoughts rather than one hundred.

When he finds Harold, and John will find him, he is going to systematically dismantle Samaritan and Decima until they are safe again.  Then he is going to take himself and Harold and Bear to some remote place (maybe he’ll make Harold buy an island) and wrap himself and Harold up in privacy and safety and never let him out of his sight again.

Then there will be no more taking.

There will especially be no more leaving.


End file.
